The Australian government has stated that it will not interfere with the decision of the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, the capital of England, to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States.
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Finance Minister Simon Birmingham explained the views of the Australian government on the UK court’s decision to extradite Australian-born Julian Assange to the United States.
Emphasizing that the government maintains its trust in the British justice system, Birmingham said that after the British court approved the extradition of Assange to the United States, it would not interfere in the case, which was sent to the British Home Secretary for the final decision.
Birmingham said “We have confidence in the independence and integrity of the UK justice system. We expect it to function, as always, accurately, transparently and independently.”
CASE PROCESS
WikiLeaks, founded by Assange, had released many classified documents in 2010, which included evidence of the crimes committed by the USA in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange, whom the USA accused of espionage and wanted his extradition, sought refuge in Ecuador’s London Embassy in June 2012, while his extradition to Sweden was on the agenda for the lawsuits filed against him on charges of rape and sexual harassment.
After the hearings, on January 4, 2021, the US extradition request was rejected on the grounds that Assange was at high risk of suicide and would be subject to special administrative measures in a US prison, particularly as he was “at real risk” because the intelligence community was hostile to him. The United States objected to the decision.
To win the appeal, the United States had pledged that the WikiLeaks founder would not be held in maximum security prisons and could serve his sentence in his home country of Australia.
The defense team, on the other hand, emphasized the safety of life, citing the news that the CIA planned to kidnap and kill Assange while he was hiding in Ecuador’s London Embassy.
On December 10, 2021, the Supreme Court found the guarantees to be sufficient and overturned the lower court’s decision and ruled that Assange could be extradited to the United States. Thereupon, Assange’s defense team applied to the Supreme Court for permission to move the case to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, with its decision on March 14, rejected Assange’s objection. After the said decision, it was stated that the case file would first go to the local court and then to the Minister of Interior Priti Patel.
